Plans for 28 car-free homes off Oldham Road in Failsworth could be given the go ahead at an Oldham Council planning committee meeting on August 19.

Specialist housebuilder City Shape submitted the application last year for the vacant site near Brookdale and Ridgefield Street. The land has been empty for several years while other homes have been built nearby, and the area is fast transforming from commercial to residential.

The site is currently covered by gravel and plants and has been used for ad-hoc, unsanctioned parking, with cars riding the kerb. A church that once stood on the land was demolished in 2013.

A design and access statement for the application says the plans will provide high quality homes and meet an identified need within this Failsworth area. The development will be a mix of two storey and three storey homes, but none will be affordable.

The statement says the scheme is well connected in Failsworth, close to local shops and services, with footpaths passing in front of homes rather than behind, and no hiding places within the development. It also says roads and pavements will be adequately lit to promote a safe, attractive route.

It also notes regular bus routes and the Failsworth Metrolink stop are a few minutes' walk away.

The plans go before the planning committee on August 19. Three people have raised concerns that the 14 car-free homes included in the development will displace parking onto surrounding streets and increase congestion.

Council officers said the site was accessible with good links to bus and Metrolink services. A Manchester Council survey found the road was busy with lots of cars, with 43 bus services per hour and some stops seeing more than 4,500 boardings a month.

Also at the same meeting, a proposal for a house of multiple occupation (HMO) on Haigh Lane in Chadderton will be considered. The application, from Footlong (UK) Ltd, has been referred because the company is understood to be owned by a family member of Councillor Abdul Jabbar.

That plan has faced objections from 121 people living in the area, as well as Reform councillor Jon Ford. Officers are recommending that the plans be thrown out.

Concerns about the HMO centre on the area being described as a well-established, quiet, family-orientated neighbourhood. An officer's report said no information had been given about the plan's impact on the environment, although its impact on traffic would be low and the nearest HMO is 380 metres away.

Other issues raised by residents, such as property prices, were not planning considerations. The report said there was no substantive evidence to suggest the use would give rise to unacceptable levels of noise, disturbance, traffic generation, or other impacts detrimental to the character and appearance of the area.

Officers said the HMO would be acceptable in size, would not cause traffic problems, and there was not an overconcentration of such properties in the area. However, the loss of 25 square metres of habitat and the lack of any assessment of environmental impacts means the application should be refused, they said.